


Sisterhood

by Infiniteleft



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Sisterhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-11-12 18:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18016400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infiniteleft/pseuds/Infiniteleft
Summary: The first time Dia was told she was going to be an older sister, the idea was exciting to her, even if she didn't fully understand what it entailed. That would come with time.





	1. Babyhood

The infant her mother held was absolutely tiny -- if it didn't move, Dia might've mistaken it for a rather realistic doll. As it was, perhaps fortunately, the squirming infant was quite keen on refusing to stay still. Or quiet.

Her father had taken her aside a couple of days ago to talk to her, making sure she understood exactly what was going to be changing within the Kurosawa household.

Admittedly, she hadn't paid too much attention, too entranced by a cloud to really focus on what he was telling her. Maybe he didn't notice. In her defense, it looked like an octopus with two legs.

One of the things he mentioned that she _did_ remember was that babies were noisy. Almost like a dog, he said. A dog that doesn't know how to be quiet yet.

She kind of understand what he meant, now.

Her younger sister refused to hush, even with her mother's fawning. A gentle stream of soothing words flowed over the children, but still her sister had to cry.

Dia wondered if she'd always be like that. She hoped not. It'd grow tiring.

Eventually, though, the baby settled down. It was a relief. Her mother beckoned her over, encouraging her to get a better look at her new sibling. With nervous steps, she ducked around the table and crawled up next to her mother, peering down at the curious bundle the woman held.

Eyes as clear as her own stared back. Dia couldn't help the gasp she took as she looked at them. Apparently, though, Ruby didn't share Dia's awe. To the dismay of their parents, both girls began crying, Dia following after her sister's alarm.

_How promising._


	2. Toddlerhood

If you asked one Dia Kurosawa if she changed her opinion on anything, there was probably only one thing she would openly offer -- Ruby. While unfathomably annoying at times, she did grow out of the nuisance of being a newborn. Gone were the days of waking up before dawn to listen to her cries.

With a more likable experience, Dia thought she was slowly warming up to being a sister. Slowly. Steps as baby as Ruby's.

Her mother had asked to her keep an eye on Ruby for a while. One of the responsibilities of being the elder sibling, Mother said.

What better way to keep her out of trouble than teaching her? It was a brilliant idea!

Brilliant until she tried to do it, actually. Dia couldn't help the growl of irritation as her sister completely disregarded what she said for what had to be the billionth time.

"No, Ruby, not like that! 'Ai'." She stressed, snatching the pencil away from her younger sister and drew the character pointing at it. "Like this!"

Ruby smiled at her, sweetly, and nodded, taking it back. She stuck her tongue out in concentration. What was new this time, though, was that she turned her back to her sister, hiding the paper from view.

Dia felt a glimmer of hope. Was she finally doing it? She was taking a while... Doing a lot of erasing...

Ruby noised to herself quietly, incoherent babble. She sounded triumphant. Slamming the pencil down, as she was wont to do, the girl spun around with a gleam in her eye, holding the paper out proudly. "Did it!"

In the middle of the paper sat a heart. It was filled with many other hearts.

Like she'd seen her mother do many times before, Dia firmly slapped a hand over her eye, squinting them both shut.

After a moment, she cracked the uncovered one open. Looking at the beaming toddler, she sighed.

"I guess it works."


	3. Childhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I don't know why there's a sudden increase in quality in the writing on this chapter, other than that I had an actual idea and I've spent more time reading about love live.

There was a distant echoing of thunder off the horizon, the storm that had been looking earlier finally breaking off the shore. It wasn't what woke Dia up, however.

No, it was the brief squeal from the room next to hers, her younger sister unable to disguise or manage her fear. Dia almost wanted to sigh and go back to bed. She felt guilty as soon as she thought twice, though. It wasn't Ruby's fault.

With a tiny grunt, Dia hoisted herself out of bed, hurrying to the door in the hopes of reaching her frightened sister before the next strike. There was nothing to be heard except the sound of whimpering. Their parents must still be asleep.

Cracking the door open, all she saw was a lump of blankets on the bed. Worried, she peered around. Surely Ruby hadn't  _ left _ her bedroom, had she…?

Dia shut the door behind her. "Ruby?" She whisper-yelled. "Ruby! Is that you?" Of course it was, but she couldn't think of anything else to ask.

There was another squeal as the thunder struck once more, the lump on the bed jerking and resuming its frantic shivering.

Something twisted within her. Sympathy, she'd her her mother say. "Oh, Ruby… you crybaby." There was an affectionate lilt to her words, even as she gently chided the younger Kurosawa. "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

The crying hadn't stopped as Dia approached. She frowned as she climbed up to sit on the bed. "Come on, Ruby, you don't have to cry. Look, I'm not scared, am I?"

Her sister still panicked under the covers. She sighed. "How silly… the storm won't hurt you! The storm just wants a friend, Ruby. It can't help being loud, that's just how storms are." She rubbed a hand over the living creature that huddled under the blankets, still. "So come on, straighten out. I'll protect you! Just lay down normally. Here, let me help."

The shuddering had stopped, at least, and the blob didn't resist Dia's tugging, letting her take the blankets off to reveal one very red-faced redhead. "A-are you su-sure a-about that, sis?"

Dia grinned, hoping it was calming. "Of course I am! Now come on, out. Like you were when mother tucked you in." She nodded in approval as Ruby slowly settled back down, sliding off the bed to the younger girl's dismay.

"Wh-wh-where are you go-- you going?!"

"Don't worry," she reassured her sister, "just give me a second. I'm not as big as mom." With another grunt, she hauled the blanket back up onto the bed, all but throwing it over the other side. She had to resist frowning. This was turning out harder than expected…

Her attention got scattered as Ruby shrieked again, bolting back up with her knees to her chest. Dia sighed. "Ruby,"she began, "I can't cover you back up when you're like that. Just - just trust me, okay? I need you to lay back. You won't get hurt, I promise. Okay?"

Ruby held reluctance in her eyes, but to get big sister's relief, trusted her more than she was afraid. Dia made as quick work as she could to haul the blankets back over her and straighten them out.

"I'm going to need you to trust me again for a moment. I want to check something, but I'll need you to be brave for me. Can you do that?" Her parents still hadn't shown up, even with the racket her younger sister was making. Ruby probably hadn't thought about it, but Dia was worried.

She wouldn't be able to get away if her sister was still afraid, though. "Just count the time between the strikes," she told her, hoping the distraction would ease her distress, "the bigger the number, the farther away it is! And if it's closer, just think; I've got a friend coming over to say hello!"

Ruby still looked petrified. With a nervous glance to the door, Dia sighed. "How about I start with you? You can keep it going for me after the first couple ones. Okay? Ready? Next strike, let's start counting."

They didn't have to wait long, for soon after, the windows rattled in their frames. "One, two, three, four," she beckoned with her hands, hoping to hear the squeaking voice join hers, "five, six, seven, eight…"

Warily, Ruby eventually began counting. "Nine, ten, e-eleven, twelve, thirteen…" She seemed to be relaxing with each number. Slowly, but it was there. Together, the pair got to twenty four before the storm sounded once again. Ruby jolted, but her sister simply started counting all over again.

When it finally hit her she wasn't in danger, the younger Kurosawa sagged against the pillow, watching Dia without apprehension in her gaze. She took that as a sign that she could now make her run for it and slid off the bed, holding up a finger before dashing outside.

It wasn't a long distance to her parents' room, but worry nagged at her with each step. She was hesitant in opening the door, but she had to know.

Dia tip-toed over to where her parents were sleeping, struggling to lean over them without waking them up.

To her immense relief, both her parents were still breathing soundly, otherwise utterly still. Their daughter sat back on her heels, puzzled as her fears subsided.

She couldn't dwell on it long, so she just guessed they were really really really tired and left it as that, slipping back out of the room as quietly as she could manage.

There wasn't any more distressed sounds coming from her sister's room, so she made her way back at a more leisurely pace this time. Ruby awaited her, still counting. "Four-three, four-four…"

"Fourty five," Dia corrected her, clambering back up with a yawn. That was a big number. "Fourty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, then a hundred."

Ruby's eyes widened as she took in this knowledge. Who knew if she'd remember it in the morning, but she did seem to have a better grasp on the things her sister tried to teach as her of lately.

So she kept counting. She'd make her proud. She made it up to seventy before she heard a faint rumble. "Wow, that's a lot of distance," she marveled. There was no response. Worried and confused, Ruby turned her head. Had something happened to her while she was distracted?! "Sis?"

There wasn't anything to worry about, she found immediately. For while she had been waiting for the next strike, her older sister had fallen asleep. "Oh." With a fond smile, Ruby leaned over to press her lips to her forehead. "Night, sis." And so, she drifted off to join her on dreams.


End file.
